The invention relates to a pull-out side set used for fastening a drawer or sliding bottom on a side wall of a stationary furniture body.
Filed contemporaneously herewith are six United States patent applications, commonly assigned to Paul Hettich GmbH and Co.:
The claims, drawings and specification of each of the foregoing applications is hereby specifically incorporated by reference into this specification as if set forth verbatim herein.
During the life of a piece of furniture having a pull-out slide set, it is frequently necessary to disassemble the piece of furniture into individual components which are more portable, and to reassemble the components at a different site. When a piece of furniture has several drawers, it is expedient for the disassembly to take place as effectively as possible without affecting the stability of the reassembled piece of furniture.
German Patent Document DE 83 33 251 U1 shows a pull-out slide set for drawers wherein the drawer can be hung into the pull-out rails of the pull-out slide set mounted in the furniture body and can be removed again. In order to facilitate the installation and removal of the drawer, a locking device is provided on each pull-out slide set to hold the pull-out rail on the carrying rail. The carrying rail is screwed to the furniture body, while the pull-out rail, displaceably carried on the carrying rail, is detachably connected with a drawer. The locking device is disposed on the pull-out rail and can lock downward into a recess in the carrying rail. Thus, the drawer can be removed from the furniture body while the pull-out slide set remains in the furniture body.
This pull-out slide set has disadvantages. For example, the heavy pull-out slide set, which is usually made of sheet metal, remains in the furniture body which, compared with the drawer, is very heavy. The disassembly of the piece of furniture into individual components therefore results in an extremely uneven weight distribution of the individual components. Furthermore, the known locking device is not secure because the lock can easily be unintentionally unlocked. When the lock is unintentionally released, the pull-out rail can slide out of the furniture body and injure persons or damage objects. Because the furniture body is unwieldy and heavy, such an unintentional unlocking of the locking device can easily occur during the transport of the furniture body.
The present invention provides a pull-out slide set which is easy to mount, and permits the disassembly of a piece of furniture into only a few individual components with a relatively even weight distribution. In addition, the pull-out slide set protects against faulty operations, and can be manufactured at reasonable cost.
According to the invention, a pull-out slide set for fastening a drawer sliding bottom on a side wall of a stationary furniture body has a carrying rail which can be connected with a holding part fixedly connected with a furniture body and at least one slide rail which is displaceably disposed with respect to the carrying rail and connected with a drawer sliding bottom. The carrying rail has a releasable locking mechanism on the holding part to retain it on the carrying rail. This construction permits a simple mounting and demounting of the pull-out slide set and allows removal of the pull-out slide set while only the holding part remains connected with the furniture body. The weight of a piece of furniture is thus more evenly distributed to the individual components, so that the pull-out slide set present a lower safety risk because of the smaller size and the easier handling.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the locking mechanism secures the carrying rail on the holding part in a first direction perpendicular to the carrying rail. This construction ensures a secure hold of the pull-out slide set also in a loading direction. Preferably, the carrying rail can be locked at the holding part using a second lock mounted in an inclined manner with respect to the first lock and perpendicular to the carrying rail. As a result, the drawer sliding bottom is securely held in all possible horizontal and vertical directions.
A locking mechanism is obtained which is easily produced at a reasonable cost if this locking mechanism has a displaceable locking element which engages the holding part. In this case, the locking element has devices for locking the holding part in the two directions mentioned earlier.
When unlocked, each slide rail is held on the carrying rail so that, during the removal of the pull-out slide set from the furniture body, movement of the slide rail or rails is essentially prevented. In this context, a slight movement of the slide rails up to approximately 4 cm is still called xe2x80x9cessentially fixedxe2x80x9d because a movement in this order is still relatively safe. However, a maximal play of the slide rail(s) of less than 1 cm is desirable.
In another embodiment of the invention, a locking element with a catch device which engages a catch element is mounted on the drawer sliding bottom and the locking element can be moved into a released position by means of the catch element. This construction ensures that the locking element is not accidently deactivated, but can be unlocked only by the intentional operation of a catch element.
The catch element is movable. In a first position, it does not engage the locking element and in a second position, it interlocks with the locking element. In order to ease the mounting of the catch element, it is displaceably received on a guiding part and can be fixed in the first and second position. As a result, the fitter can hear and feel whether the desired position of the catch element has been reached.
An easily producible pull-out slide set can be obtained when the locking element is displaceable on a carrying rail, and a guiding element is mounted on the carrying rail. In this case, the guiding element can be fitted onto and held on the carrying rail by a catch device.
If the above-mentioned locking element has at least two locking tongues which at least partially reach around the holding part in the locked condition, the desired locking can be achieved in several directions. The locking element element is displaceably arranged along a recess formed on the carrying rail in order to guide the locking element.
The invention can be produced at reasonable cost if the carrying rail and the provided slide rails are made of metal and the components of the locking mechanism are made of plastic.
According to the invention, a drawer is also provided which has a sliding bottom which is held on each side by a pull-out slide, device, the drawer including a front panel, side walls and a rear wall. The drawer also has two pull-out slide sets.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.